Cirque du Soleil on Broadway?

[justincharacter]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 3:48pm

I've been waiting to see if Cirque du Soleil will make a move for Broadway, since Pippin has been running. I think their closed show from LA, IRIS, could actually work on the Broadway stage. It has a pretty clear "story line" but could use more tweaking for the stage to make the story more heavy and stable. Unlike the horrid Zarkana, did anyone see that? It's about a pianist, Buster, who adores Scarlett (which is played by many performers over the course of the show), who has dreams to become a movie star who is also way out of Busters league. The romance comes and goes, as they keep being torn apart every time they meet. I have to mention IRIS is themed on film, sound, and picture and the music was composed by Danny Elfman, if you couldn't tell. Do you think it could work?

First Act: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrHak38VZ0E EDIT: Video was taken down




Updated On: 6/28/13 at 03:48 PM

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 4:22pm

Put it in MSG.

[emo_geek]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 4:27pm

Iris, the production that closed in Los Angeles, is FANTASTIC. I saw it twice. The score by Danny Elfman is worth the ticket. I thought the whole production was done beautifully.

[justincharacter]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 4:37pm

Iris is a huge STAGE show, and it defiantly wouldn't fit in The Theater at MSG. I'm trying to find the video of the first act, since it was taken down.

@emo_geek When did you see it?

[dramamama611]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 4:39pm

Cirque has not played b'way -- they have oft gone to RCMH and done quite well.


I doubt most b'way houses could handle their aerial needs. And I may be mistaken, but I don't think RCMH is under the jurisdiction of Equity, and therefore, their operating costs are much lower. (I can't tell you where I heard that before, however.)

[Gothampc]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 4:40pm

I don't think a Broadway house could handle their show.

[justincharacter]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 4:46pm

If Spiderman could, I defiantly think this show could. Most of the acts in this show are on the stage, and about three are above and in the audience (they fly above the audience). The people at Cirque did say when Iris closed that it's possible that they will bring it to another city(ies).

Updated On: 6/28/13 at 04:46 PM

[Starship]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 5:01pm

If Cirque really wanted Iris to fit into a Broadway house, they'd find a way to make it work. But yes, I agree, Iris needs to be revived - it was truly one of their best shows!

[dramamama611]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 5:04pm

Except Spiderman is in a behemoth of a house....and paid millions of dollars renovating the space. So "maybe" it could go there.

But my thoughts about Equity still stand.

[justincharacter]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 5:14pm

I heard that The Palace was the biggest theater on Broadway (stage wise), and I'd think it would be a perfect fit since the show is all about the movies. But isn't it obvious The Foxwood is the biggest?

[emo_geek]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 5:15pm

@ustincharacter I saw it at two very different points in its run. I saw it in previews 2 nights before its official opening night. I then revisited it about 3 months before it closed after it had been shortened a half hour or so.

[latitudex1]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 5:22pm

Banana Shpeel was Equity, and I'd imagine that any show they do at RCMH has to at least be AGVA. But, dramamama611, you're right. Cirque doesn't do union productions.

They'd have to create something new for Broadway, and it didn't work out so well last time (the aforementioned Banana Shpeel). Who knows, though.

[justincharacter]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 5:23pm

@emo I heard from lots of people that when it had two acts, it was way better, they didn't like how it was shortened before it closed. I believe they cut some scenes, shortened some, and cut a act or two. Which version of the show did you prefer?

Updated On: 6/28/13 at 05:23 PM

[Brave Sir Robin2]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 5:35pm

IRIS was such a good show, it could do well as a limited run in New York at Radio City. It's an incredible show.

[justincharacter]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 5:56pm

It defiantly needs to be revived, I personally think it would do well during a open end run on Broadway. I absolutely adore the scene where there's all those Scarletts who try to seduce Buster in that long film strip prop.

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 6:04pm

I saw Iris in L.A., the revised shortened version. Actually since they also deleted the 25 minute intermission that existed in the original version and made it one act like their other resident shows, there wasn't that much taken out, only 1 act as I understood it from an e-mail exchange I had with Cirque when I asked them that exact question.

I really enjoyed the show a lot but the show was about the birth and history of the film industry in Hollywood. It was specifically developed to play in Hollywood as a part of the show business "experience" tourists would have when visiting L.A. It failed to find an audience among people there who one would think would be the most receptive to it. And it was not competing with 30 other major shows for the same tourist dollar. Forgetting size of house and union issues, it's not clear to me why some of you think despite it failing in the exact environment for which it was developed, it would be successful on Broadway.

[justincharacter]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 6:13pm

@Fisherman LA and NY are two different environments, even though they are both major cities. LA is not Broadway. Think about Wicked for example. The producers tried to have a open end run in LA, and it closed after 2 years, while on Broadway it still is and has been running for 13 years now. Just because it wasn't successful in LA, doesn't mean it would not be successful anywhere else, they are two different places.

Updated On: 6/28/13 at 06:13 PM

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 6:18pm

IRIS bombed here in LA.

Why would anyone want to re-mount it in NY?

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 6:30pm

Justin, sitdown productions in L.A., S.F. and Chicago never run as long as the original Broadway productions that spawned them for a variety of reasons. With it having already played on Broadway for a number of years, multiple touring companies and other sitdown productions, Wicked's 2 year run in L.A. was considered a success. I appreciate that you like the show (I did too) and think it would be really cool if it ran on Broadway but it's going to take a lot more than your wishing it so for it to be successful on Broadway when it wasn't in the exact environment for which it was developed but you can believe what you like.

[justincharacter]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 6:39pm

I respect your view on the case,, so your saying it wouldn't. Since Cirque might have plans to bring it elsewhere, where do you think it would be successful?

[anmiller07]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 6:51pm

It defiantly needs to be revived

Boy, you're a defiant little devil, aren't ya?

Think about Wicked for example. The producers tried to have a open end run in LA, and it closed after 2 years, while on Broadway it still is and has been running for 13 years now.

It will be 10 years come October.

I'd like to see Iris. Let us know if you come across that video. Also has this ever played in Cirque's base city (I think it's Montreal?). I wonder if they are popular in London. Perhaps it would do well there. Updated On: 6/28/13 at 06:51 PM

[justincharacter]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 7:04pm

How could I mix up the years, I knew it was 10 years, why and how did I put 13...


It never played in Montreal (yes you're right, it's Cirque's base city). Cirque is very popular in London. They run their touring shows at the Royal Albert, during the same months every year (January-February). There were plans for them to have a sit down production there back in the 90's, but don't know what really happened during the process, but it just didn't happen.

I will let you guys know when I get my hands on it!

Updated On: 6/28/13 at 07:04 PM

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 7:08pm

Justin, Cirque has almost 20 shows out there counting their touring shows and resident shows. If you look at the themes of each show, they are either something nebulous like a Boy wandering in the forest who meets a strange but wonderful group of forest dwellers who help him rediscover a love for his family (or some such similar nonsense) or shows that focus on an iconic figure loved worldwide (Michael Jackson, The Beatles). Each and every one of these shows would have equal appeal for someone no matter where they live or who they are. This is part of the Cirque success story. Iris was an outlier, they took a chance and developed a show focused on a specific historical event and a specific geographic area. I heard them say the same thing about taking it to other cities when they announced its closing late last year. Truthfully, I think Cirque lost a bundle on Iris never coming close to recouping their development costs or the renovation costs of the Kodak/Dolby Theater. I think their statement at that time was mostly based on ego to prove that it was a great show and if the folks in L.A. didn't like it, people in other cities certainly would.

I think if they try to bring it to other cities, it will compete with their other touring shows and cannibalize them. They try not to have a touring show play a city more than once every 2 years given a lot of the shows are somewhat similar and tickets cost a small fortune. They are careful not to oversaturate a city. They would have to skip the launch of a new touring show next year which is already under development and launch this instead which I don't think will happen. If they were to take it to Vegas as a resident show, I think despite it being a really good show, it would suffer from comparisons to O and the other 4 or 5 shows already there cause it's just not as breathtaking as they are and would struggle to find an audience. Other resident shows have always been placed at resorts. They tried to expand beyond Vegas and Orlando Disneyworld to Macao and Toyko Disneyworld and those shows failed. Guy Laliberte is one of the shrewdest business people out there, not one to let emotion or ego get in the way of making a good business decision. Truthfully, I think they have accepted that Iris failed and I certainly could be wrong but my guess is we won't see it relaunched anytime soon if at all.

Updated On: 6/28/13 at 07:08 PM

[Starship]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 7:10pm

Iris only played in LA. The show failed as it wasn't able to draw in the crowds that it needed to break even. Attendance was weak for much of the show's run and some performances had capacity levels as low as 25%.

I feel that 90% of the time, Cirque goes too over the top with their shows. Sometimes it just becomes to excessive and unnecessary. For Iris, they spent $100 million dollars on the show and we relying on tickets averaging at $120 & $250 to stay open. Their initial goal was to attract the tourists in the area, but unfortunately, not every tourist who stumbles across the Dolby Theatre has $120 + fees per person to spend. The cheapest tickets (that were LITERALLY in the nose bleeds) were $40. In a 2,500, those seats just aren't that great.



Updated On: 6/28/13 at 07:10 PM

[justincharacter]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 7:21pm

@Fisherman "Would have to skip the launch of a new touring show next year which is already under development and launch this instead which I don't think will happen."

Your talking about "Cirque 2014", I really am interested to see how that plays out. The rumored theme wasn't all that interesting to me.

"They tried to expand beyond Vegas and Disneyworld in Orlando to Macao and Toyko Disneyworld and those shows failed"

ZED (The Tokyo Disney show) was absolutely amazing! Fans described it the best Cirque show since Quidam. It ended up failing due to (as the producers and managers said) the earthquake and tsuami disaster. Zaia, it wasn't that good, I agree with that one failing.

It almost seems as if Cirque ends up putting the quality shows in the wrong places.